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With COVID-19 still rampaging through our military community, many parents are beginning to weigh out a new decision. Will military parents send their children back to public or chartered schools? Or, will they try something new altogether; home schooling?
When I first started homeschooling, my children were entering into the 5th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade, and pre-school levels. Needless to say, the thought of finding a curriculum that would bridge gap between ages and stages was overwhelming. I ended up purchasing nearly $2,000 worth of “age appropriate” materials and grade level curriculum sets.
A few days later, several enormous boxes filled with eight million manuals and work sheets galore showed up at my house. I spent hours sifting through countless pages and products trying to figure out how to manage a full day of school, completing the required assignments with four children at four different grade levels.
I managed to survive the first year, with weeping and gnashing of teeth. We allocated several hours to all the different subjects, desperately trying to recreate the traditional tactics of public-school learning.
But then, I found a better way- Classical Conversations, a classical Christian approach to education that promoted a much more user-friendly and robust curriculum. Classical Conversations also provided a built-in community where we learned together one day a week.
I believe that this curriculum will aid parents in bridging the gap during the Coronavirus pandemic and provide some much-needed structure and security.
So, what is classical education? Let’s get a little background.
The classical method of education builds upon the natural developmental stages of each age and stage of a child’s mind. The classical model teaches children how to learn and how to process new information based on their age and capacity. Basically, this method encourages critical thinking and logic development at all stages of learning.
The model of classical education is built upon the trivium. The word “trivium” is Latin for “the place where three roads meet” and is based upon Plato’s understanding of educational development.
There three stages of the “Trivium,” which are simply the three stages of learning. The three stages are the grammar stage, the dialectic stage, and the rhetoric stage.
Grammar
The Grammar stage begins from birth to age 11(ish). This includes students from Pre-K to about fourth or fifth grade. During this stage, a child’s mind develops and processes information by memorizing and observing. So, with a classical method and curriculum, we give them good things to memorize- like math facts or history sentences.
Moms and dads, you know this stage. I like to call it the “What’s that?” stage. In this stage, mom and dad have all the answers. “Mom, what is this? What is that?” Kids in this stage want to know all the “W” words. “Who? What? When? Where?” Structure is important and vocabulary building is critical.
Before you keep reading and feel super overwhelmed, know that you have (maybe unbeknownst to you) already been educating your child in a classical method. When you teach your child to tie their shoes, you say “These are your shoe laces. This is how you tie them.” And then, your child would observe and practice. It is the same with learning any other skill. You did the same method when teaching them to walk, or brush their teeth. You have been educating them every step of the way. Keep reading. You can do this!
Dialectic
Next, the dialectic stage starts around 12 years old and lasts through approximately 16. This is also called the “logic” stage. Instead of wanting to know “what” or “who,” children in this stage now want to know “why” and “how.” Kids in this age group love to argue (We all have that fun and fancy pre-teen, right?) and enjoy debating. They are now capable of putting together all of the information that they had learned in the grammar stage and are making new connections with old information. They are learning about cause and effect, how to think critically, and reason with what they know. So, with a classical method and curriculum, we give them good things to argue about- like theology or new ideas.
Rhetoric
Finally, the rhetoric stage (also known as the poetic stage) begins around age 16 and continues through adulthood. This stage is defined by having a full understanding of what they know. They can persuade others and defend what they believe. They know how to use their knowledge, apply it, and build wisdom. Their connections are sharper, making them able to speak, teach, and lead in areas of understanding.
Not only are these three stages connected to ages and stages in children, but they are also the skills that we, as adults, use to become proficient or gain mastery in any new endeavor. Essentially, this method equips us and our children to teach ourselves anything under the sun.
What does this look like practically? I do “school” from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, with an hour break for lunch in the middle. My younger children are finished by noon. My two older children work on writing and language arts in the afternoon.
Here is our daily schedule:
By 9:00 AM, we are up at it. Morning chores are completed and breakfast is finished. We are at the table by 10:00 AM. The kitchen table is where the magic happens. It is a true one-room school house. My pre-school age child all the way up to my fourth grader use the same curriculum! I do not have to fiddle with five million different workbooks and drill pages. We all work on the same curriculum – their memory work.
Remember the “grammar” stage? This is where memory really makes the biggest difference. Every week, we memorize information from seven subjects – Math, Science, English, Geography, History, the Timeline of the world, and Latin. (A lot of these subjects have accompanying songs that will surprise you on how catchy they are.)
After memory work, we have 30 minutes of review, 45 minutes of mathematics, and 20 minutes of reading. Boom. My grade school children are done. We break for lunch and then the afternoon fun begins. Writing and Language Arts are completed by my upper elementary and junior high students.
Here’s the best part. We do not have spastic and hectic morning routines. We aren’t looking for lost shoes or screaming as we throw Pop Tarts at kids running out the door. Mornings are calm and leisurely. We also don’t do homework. The kids do not have test anxiety. School is slow paced and (most of the time) peaceful.
If you are on the fence, here is what other parents are saying:
“We have the luxury of designing what home school looks like for our active duty family. We provide stability and consistency in the midst of uncertainty. Classical Conversations is everywhere. I can move to any duty station, and most likely, find a community that meets. I can be instantly plugged in and have support in a new location. Finding my new community of moms and dads to ‘do life’ with is invaluable.”
Sarah Andrews, CC Support Representative
“By giving us enough of a framework so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every week, month, or year, Classical Conversations has put the joy back into our family’s homeschool. I especially appreciate that, in this time of pandemic and discord, classical education has given us the skills to learn and dialogue about complex situations in a thoughtful, logical, and compassionate way. Not to mention, this method brings peace through solid routines. No matter where the Air Force sends us, we can connect with a local community or start our own- it brings instant familiarity for all of us. Since we started CC, my husband has communicated his appreciation of Classical Conversations. He enjoys knowing what we are doing (He has even been known to take memory flashcards to deployed locations.).”
Pauline Magnusson, Support Representative, Western NY
Classical Conversations has changed the way that we approach education. I’m no longer stressing about creating a hodgepodge of curriculums, or striving to keep up with air-tight daily schedules. Instead, we are enjoying the process of being a lead learner and allowing our children to learn beside us.
Classical Christian Education Made Approachable. Classical Conversations Inc. Print. 2011
Megan Brown is a seasoned military spouse and military missionary. She is the Military Liaison for the Speak Up Conference Global Missions Military Scholarship and the 2019-Armed Forces Insurance Robins AFB Military Spouse of the Year. She is passionate about military mission work and teaching and preaching about Jesus in and out of the local church. Her Bible study, “Esther: Come Out of Hiding,” published by Moody Publishers in Chicago, will release in May 2021. She lives in middle Georgia with her husband, Keith, and their energetic kiddos. She is a Bible teacher, speaker, and freelance writer. To learn more or connect with Megan, visit www.meganbbrown.com.